Surrounded by burlap sacks of cocoa beans, a group of Springfield teens got a lesson on what kind of bean it takes to make exceptional chocolate Tuesday at Askinosie Chocolate's warehouse.

The lesson was part of a week-long boot camp to prepare them for the trip of a lifetime. The group is heading to Tanzania today, where they'll help examine and purchase beans directly from the farmers, do community-development work at an elementary school and get a taste of Swahili culture.

"When we look at the beans in Tanzania, we will be looking at them in a different light literally. The sun light will be different there," Shawn Askinosie told the group before slicing sample beans in half with a small guillotine. "Really wet beans are purple. Really dry beans are brown or light brown. Why would we not want wet beans?"

"Mold," someone offered.

Askinosie nodded, and explained that it typically takes 30 to 40 days to ship the beans from Tanzania to his chocolate factory at 514 E. Commercial Street. Wet beans will mold in that time.

"And there's no fixing moldy beans," he said.

The teens — 13 Springfield students who were picked from more than 70 applicants — are part of the Chocolate University (CU) program, a learning program for students funded by the proceeds from Askinosie Chocolate factory tours.

The trip costs about $4,000 per student. While six of the students' families were able to afford the trip, seven are on scholarships.

This will be the third time Askinosie has brought teens to Africa to buy beans and give humanitarian aid to the people in the villages where Askinosie does business.

The attorney-turned-chocolatier buys beans directly from farmers at above-market prices and then profit shares with the farmers. He also deals with farmers in Honduras, Ecuador and the Philippines.

The teens spent this past week staying in Drury University dorms. Mornings were dedicated to learning about the chocolate industry, Askinosie Chocolate, Tanzanian life and culture and a little of the Swahili language.

In the afternoons, they visited the Watershed Center, Leadership Ranch in Republic, Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce and sorted food for Convoy of Hope.

"The afternoon activities are meant to get them developed as a a team," said John Taylor, Drury professor and Choculate University advisory council member. "Some of these kids know one another. Some don't. By the time we go to Tanzania, I want them to be a team."

Today, they will embark on the 46-hour trip to a remote village in Tanzania. They will return Aug. 11.

Gibson, 18, called the trip a "great learning opportunity." He plans to study business and Chinese at New York University and perhaps someday follow Askinosie's socially-responsible business model to help people in a developing country.

"It's easy to wonder how much can really be changed, but if you help even just a few people, you are re-energized to keep trying," he said.

Couch, also 18, hopes to teach elementary education through the Peace Corps and is looking forward to hanging out with the Tanzanian children.

"I can't wait to help out their schools. I'm really excited to see all the students," Couch said.

Daudi Msseemmaa, with Convoy of Hope and member of the Chocolate University advisory council, lives in Tanzania and will be the group's host.

"The world is different. The society is different," Msseemmaa said. "When they get into peoples' home, some will be made of clay, sticks and bamboos. Some will be made from concrete blocks ... They will walk inside a house and people are sleeping on the floor."

Msseemmaa, a former Springfield resident, and his wife, Kellen, will be on-hand to help the teens process and understand what they see and experience.

"I don't know how it's going to change me," said 17-year-old Layton, "but I know it's going to have a profound impact on how I feel about the world."

Humanitarian mission

While in Tanzania, the group will also participate in community-development projects.

• This past year, the group raised money to fund the building of a classroom at an elementary school in Mababu, where 1,400 students crowd into eight classrooms. It cost about $5,700 to build a classroom. An anonymous donor gave another $5,700 to fund the construction of a second classroom.

Students will visit the school, visit with the children and hand over that money plus $4,500 worth of textbooks thanks to a grant from Springfield Southeast Rotary Club. Currently, the school has no text books.

• Students will learn about and evaluate an existing nutrition program at the Mwaya Secondary School in the village of Kyela. Askinosie buys gourmet rice from farmers there for $1.50 a bag, sells it in the U.S. for $16.50 and then gives the $15 profit back to the school to pay for students' lunches. One bag funds about 220 lunches. Prior to this program, Mwaya students survived on one meal a day. Convoy of Hope helps manage the 2-year-old program, which provides between 160,000 to 180,000 lunches annually.

"What's cool about it and somewhat revolutionary, we are feeding 800 kids a day lunch with no donations. Nobody is donating a penny. It's all received from the profits of the rice," Askinosie said.

• They will help with a nutrition and sanitation seminar for the mothers of the village. The seminar is funded by the Springfield Southeast Rotary Club. Working with Convoy of Hope, students will help distribute educational material with the people in the village and demonstrate hand-washing techniques and other sanitation techniques.

About Chocolate University

Chocolate University is a learning program for local students funded by the proceeds from Askinosie Chocolate factory tours and donations. According to Askinosie.com, the goal is to "inspire students through the lens of artisan chocolate making to be global citizens and embrace the idea that business(es) can solve world problems."

In addition to the high school program that takes students to Tanzania, Chocolate University has programs at Boyd Elementary and Pipkin Middle School — the two schools near Askinosie Chocolate Factory and the Missouri Hotel, a homeless shelter on Commercial Street.

• At Boyd Elementary, fourth and fifth grade classes weave chocolate into many aspects of their curriculum. When students learn about inventions in the classroom, they walk down the street for a special tour of the factory to see how cocoa beans are transformed into a chocolate bar. The folks at Askinosie Chocolate visit classrooms to talk about their journeys to cocoa farms around the world, as well as teach the basics of balance sheets, income statements and profit sharing. Every year students from Boyd visit the factory for a celebration and make chocolate treats.

• At Pipkin Middle School, students are involved in the maintenance of the Sustainable Lunch Program at Malagos. In this program, Askinosie Chocolate purchases Tableya (a traditional Filipino hot cocoa) created by the PTA at Malagos, sells the Tableya, then returns the profits to the PTA for them to provide lunches for each of the 800 students. To date, the program has provided more than 240,000 school lunches.